Samurai

Reiner Knizia’s tile-laying game is a joy, but some have expressed concern over its scoring system. Here are a few variants.

Samurai is the third in a series of Reiner Knizia tile-laying games, the other two being Euphrat & Tigris and Durch die Wuste. The mechanics are relatively simple and straightforward, yet the scoring system can be a bit confusing. I, for one, haven’t had any problems with it, but many have.

Thus, several have offered alternative scoring methods and have granted their permission to publish these alternatives here.

CHRIS KOVAC: I had the good fortune of meeting Chris at Alan Moon’s Gathering in 1998 and have corresponded with him since then. He has offered the following alternative scoring method:

1) During the course of play, one should place figures captured in front of their screens, clearly visible to all. This will result in intense fights for majorities and does not penalize players who may have poor memories.

2) If a player does not capture a majority in two of the three figure types, then the winner of the game is simply the player who has captured the most figures overall. If a player does manage to capture the majority in two of the three figure types, he is declared the winner.

JONATHAN DEGANN: From the prolific mind of Jonathan Degann comes the following alternative:

1) If two players tie for a majority in one of the three figure types, the player with the most ‘remaining’ tokens breaks this tie and advances to the ‘finals’. However, he must use the number of remaining tokens that his tied opponent had in determining if he ultimately captures the victory in the finals.